4. Oracle, Sun merger gains favor in Europe: The European Commission appears poised to approve Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun after a review of the latest promises from Oracle about how it will safeguard competition in the database software market.

6. Scammers lurk behind Google Doodle: In a further sign that we are approaching a day when it will be unsafe to click on just about anything on the Internet, security researchers found that Tuesday's picture of the day at Google -- the "Doodle" -- was infected with malware.

8. Plurk_Says">Microsoft apology for code theft may not do, Plurk says: First, the popular microblogging service Plurk, which is based in Canada, accused Microsoft of ripping off Plurk code for the MSN China microblog service, Juku. Microsoft checked into the allegations and found that they were true, saying that an outside company it hired for Juku development copied Plurk code. Then Plurk said the apology might not be enough and that it is considering "all possibilities," including a lawsuit in light of Microsoft's admission.

9. Apple granted permanent injunction against Psystar: A U.S. District Court judge granted a permanent injunction to Apple against Mac clone-maker Psystar, which has until Dec. 31 to comply with the court ruling. Happy new year.

10. Facebook target of FTC privacy complaint and Facebook privacy complaint ignites war of words: Well, we had a feeling last week we should clear space in the weekly top-news list for ongoing Facebook privacy policy coverage. Sure enough, 10 privacy groups filed a complaint with the FTC this week about the privacy policy changes that were announced last week. The privacy groups, led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, contend that the policy changes "violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook's own representations."